Starch Madness (Fedor Emelianenko x Dan Henderson)

Starch Madness Mascot: Starchibald Spudd

A series of articles appreciating some of the best knockouts in combat sports

Welcome back to Starch Madness! In this installment, the knockout that will be highlighted involves literally one of the most accomplished and acclaimed mixed martial arts fighters to ever compete in the sports: Fedor Emelianenko. This knockout came from the Strikeforce bout, Dan Henderson x Fedor Emelianenko. If you are unfamiliar with “The Last Emperor”, the most concise way to describe him would be your favorite fighter’s favorite fighter. He’s been in the sport for about 22 years up to this point competing as a mixed martial artist since 2000.

However, he had a highly successful career as a Sambo and Judo competitor representing Russia, winning countless medals (the vast majority of which are gold) in high-level competitions before switching his focus to mixed martial arts. He became an absolute terror as he exemplified a fierce dominance over most of his opponents while competing in PRIDE during the early 2000s. He put together a masterful career up to that point excelling in both standup and grappling getting finishes any way the fight took place.

Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko

Fedor was at the height of his legend status, even as an active fighter during 2009 after beating Brett Rodgers in Strikeforce to accrue a record of 31-1. Many respectable MMA pundits were already touting him as the greatest heavyweight the sport had ever seen. He hit a two-fight skid after suffering a submission loss to future UFC Heavyweight Champion, Fabricio Werdum and a TKO (doctor stoppage) loss to Antonio Silva. He looked to bounce back against seasoned mixed martial arts vet and fellow PRIDE legend, Dan Henderson.

Dan “Hendo” Henderson

Dan Henderson, who holds his own greatest hits of some of the most viscerally savage knockouts in MMA, was set to fight a man that was seen as both the most skilled and dangerous fighter on the planet at the time. Not only fight him but fight him in a weight class that Henderson was undersized for at heavyweight. He was in for a solid uphill battle in his clash with a Shark-eyed Russian Sambo terminator bot (despite his two losses in a row), but he took it as just another fight.

On July 31, 2011, these two titans met each other in the middle of the Strikeforce cage and went to war. Their fight was high octane from start to finish.

The action was fast and furious with Henderson throwing out a leg kick (from his iconically rigid stiff stance) which was caught by Fedor who tried to return it with a hook of his own. He whiffed it, but the two stayed incredibly tight both loading bombs and swinging them wildly at each other, but neither of them being able to connect yet.

They clinched momentarily and ran into the cage before separating so they could throw some more. They got into small exchanges before clinching up every now and again and separated to get space to chuck more haymakers at each other. Neither man appeared to have any intention of going the distance in this one. Hendo was able to secure double underhooks and press Fedor to the cage so that he could work a little lower-body offense digging into Fedor’s thighs with knees every few seconds.

They stood there a bit before Hendo relinquished his hold to throw two wild hooks on the break and he slowly shuffled backward to lead the action back to the center of the cage. They stood far apart tentatively trying to gauge the distance to engage again. They took a while to throw anything else as they’d both found a new respect for the other’s power in no time at all. Fedor stepped in with an explosive overhand right which landed on Henderson.

Fedor put his foot on the pedal following with a nasty hook and uppercut combination as he moves in to capitalize with more shots. He landed an uppercut that floors Hendo to the canvas and Fedor pounces on him while he’s down. He tee’d off with a rapid ground and pound combination while Hendo struggled to get his bearings.

Hendo clasped both hands around one of Fedor’s legs as he tried to avoid the punches on the ground against the cage. He then pulled off a slick move that shows his years of experience as a high-level wrestler. He used the leverage to sneak out the backdoor and explode to his feet behind Fedor as he’s punching. He then delivered an absolutely Herculean right uppercut flush to Fedor’s jaw from behind, dropping him face-first into the canvas. He followed it up with several ground and pound blows until he was separated from Fedor ending the fight in theatrical fashion.

Hendo laying waste to The Last Emperor in a literal “come from behind” victory

This was a resounding victory that many did not see happening in a meeting of two amazing fighters that both had storied careers in Japan with the PRIDE MMA promotion. Fedor is still an active fighter (although wayyyy past his prime) maintaining a highly respectable 40-6 record, while Dan Henderson retired with a Hall of Fame UFC career and a 32-15 record after losing a middleweight title fight to Michael Bisping. Fedor will always be remembered as a great if not “the great” and nobody will ever question his status as such, but Hendo will always be able to hold on to this underdog victory against him which was definitely well earned.